Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Government, Industry & Commerce

Location

Dutton Rd, Croghan, NY 13327, USA

Lat/Long

44.012651, -75.3222

Grant Recipient

Town of Croghan

The hamlet of Jerdan Falls was located here in a remote area of Lewis County, NY. Brothers Yale and William Rice established the hamlet around 1870. Among the foothills of the Adirondacks with an abundance of lumber, this area proved ideal for a new community. It was a thriving company town, which featured a saw mill, school, church, shops, and homes as well as the W. & Y. Rice Tannery, the principal employer of the community. The success of Rice Brothers, their community, and their thriving tannery business was described in great detail in the July 19, 1871 edition of the Lewis County Democrat:

The Rice Bros. are to the tanning business of Croghan the same as A.T. Stewart is to the mercantile business of New York. With their tanneries at French Settlement and [Jerdan] Falls their business is very extensive, and the genuine business pluck and energy which they have carried into their business , especially in the erection of their tannery at [Jerdan] falls, is truly commendable and deserves from them much praise.

The article continues:

One year ago last March they went into the woods at [Jerdan] Falls, not a tree cut and snow on the ground, they commenced to cut, clear and build, and now have nearly three hundred acres cleared up, a saw mill in operation, a store well stocked, dwelling and boarding houses for their help, and a mammoth tannery, which together with the bark mill, dry house and beam house is over 1,000 feet long.

Despite the brothers’ commercial success and initial community growth, the tannery was eventually sold and over the years the population of Jerdan Falls dwindled. Around 1940 the land where Jerdan Falls once stood was sold to New York State and became part of the Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest.